The Collapse Of Shoe Enterprises Is The Price To Pay For Industrial Transformation.

Under the "labor shortage", "electricity shortage" and "oil shortage", plus anti-dumping, appreciation of the renminbi, rising labor costs, rising raw material prices and the adjustment of national policies on export rebates and processing trade, the footwear industry in Guangdong is undergoing transformation and upgrading, and many shoe companies have been eliminated. Information from the Asian Footwear Association shows that in the first three quarters of this year, there were about 1000 shoe factories and supporting enterprises in Guangdong, which were closed down by various factors or voluntarily closed down, or were sealed up by courts or moved elsewhere. (Xinhua December 16th) the footwear industry in Guangdong had dominated the industry for many years. However, after years of rapid growth, the shoe industry has suffered heavy losses in recent years, such as labor shortage, electricity shortage and oil shortage. With the continuous appreciation of RMB and the implementation of trade protection in some regions or countries, Guangdong shoe enterprises have been faced with severe challenges. Many shoe companies either go bankrupt or go far away from home. According to the statistics of the footwear association of Asia, more than 1000 of the more than 5000 shoe enterprises in Guangdong were closed down. Apart from some failures, Guangdong now has about 25% factories in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, India and Burma. About 50% of them are located in mainland provinces such as Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Henan. Seeing the above data is worrying, will the footwear industry in Guangdong begin to enter the trough and even lead to the decline of the whole industry? It is not so simple to answer this question. However, with the increasing cost of land and labor in Guangdong, the failure of some shoe enterprises is an inevitable trend. Does this mean that the footwear industry in Guangdong is entering the throes of transformation and upgrading? The answer is yes. At present, China's economy is at a critical point of development. The turning point of its economic development has basically taken shape. If the industrial structure can not be transformed or upgraded in a timely manner, it will inevitably lead to contradictions with economic development, thus triggering a series of problems. Observing the current situation of the domestic footwear industry, we will find that compared with Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, which are the shoemaking bases, the footwear industry in Guangdong is most affected by the same external environment such as RMB appreciation, raw material prices and macro-control. The reason is that shoe manufacturers in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places are developing their own international marketing network while developing domestic sales channels. In this respect, more chips are available than Guangdong shoe companies, and more than 80% of Guangdong's enterprises are adopting processing trade to organize production and sale. In this regard, Guangdong shoe enterprises should seriously consider. Because Guangdong shoe enterprises rely too much on the mode of processing trade, they neither take the "two legged" walking at home and abroad, but are absent from their own brands. It is precisely this reason that led to the closure and relocation of a shoe factory in Guangdong, which made Guangdong's footwear industry in crisis. This also reflects the current situation of manufacturing industry in Guangdong, that is, labor-intensive manufacturing enterprises with low cost, low profit and lack of independent brand and technical content have no core competitiveness. Once the low cost comparative advantage is lost, the crisis is not simply a production crisis, but a crisis of survival. It can be said that the collapse of shoe enterprises in Guangdong is the price to be paid for China's industrial transformation and upgrading. It is also a microcosm of Guangdong's manufacturing and manufacturing industry's survival crisis. The survival environment that Guangdong shoe enterprises need is not just labor and land, but is it the only way out for these enterprises that are increasingly dependent on specialized division of labor? Is the closure or transfer guaranteed that they will be brought back to life from the crisis? Some people say that labor-intensive industries like shoemaking industry are migratory birds, where the lowest cost will move. However, for any company that wants to go to a higher level, it is impossible to prolong life by moving around. To solve these problems, we need not only Guangdong shoe enterprises to enhance brand awareness, increase R & D investment, but also local governments to upgrade their industry support. At present, the footwear industry in Guangdong has lost the advantage of low cost. What should be done is to improve the technological content of the product and create its own brand. For many shoe companies, there is only one way out for the future: only technological research and development is the way out for enterprises. No technology is always controlled by others. We must take market demand as the guide, technological innovation as the driving force, speed up the strategic transformation, and strive to improve the technological content and added value of shoes products and transform to technological advantage. No matter whether the price is paid or the labor pains occur, it is not terrible. The terrible thing is that after the pain, "the pain is forgotten and the pain is forgotten". Some experts pointed out that the next two years will be the reshuffle year of the footwear industry in Guangdong. It is estimated that more than half of the enterprises will take the initiative to close down and withdraw from the footwear industry. This means that Guangdong shoe enterprises either transform or collapse. If the transformation is successful, the competitiveness of enterprises will be stronger. If the transition is not successful, then only close down or move elsewhere. If an enterprise wants to live, it must go through this road. In other words, if a crisis can revive the innovation consciousness and creativity of Guangdong shoe enterprises, then this pain will be a good news for Guangdong shoe manufacturers and for our manufacturing industry.